Failure is Not an Option ...

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... But try as we might, failure sometimes occurs. Borrowing from the sage advice of moms the world over, failure is inevitable. The challenge is to learn from our setbacks and keeping moving forward.

Apica, a leading load testing and performance-monitoring provider for cloud and mobile apps, recently published the “Seven Most Stunning Website Failures of 2011.” A handful of retailers landed in the mix – but they are in good company.

1. Tickets for London 2012 Olympics Available for Purchase
In June, the Olympic committee announced 2.3 million tickets were available for purchase for the 2012 London Olympics. Excited fans rushed the site, only to find “Sorry, we cannot process your request at this time” messaging, because the website could not handle the rush of visitors.

2. New York City Offers Government Website for Hurricane Irene
The New York City website crashed amid overwhelming visitor volume encouraged by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who strongly urged the public to use the website for information on Hurricane Irene in August.

3. Target.com Launches Missoni Collection
The much anticipated launch of the Missoni Collection at Target in September caused the Target.com site to crash due to high traffic. The crash rendered the entire website inoperable for hours.

4. Apple Launches iPhone 4S
In early October, iPhone 4S became available for purchase at the Apple Store. Huge spikes in website traffic throughout the day either downed the site or slowed it considerably, effectively halting tens of thousands of new phone purchases.

5. Bank of America Announces Monthly Fee for Debit Card Purchases
Bank of America’s website slowed considerably for five days in October when it was hit hard by customers flocking to the site after the banking giant announced it would be charging a $5 monthly fee for account holders who make purchases with their bank debit cards.

7. H&M Launches New Versace Collection
Shoppers looking to purchase the new Versace Collection from H&M’s website in November were greeted with “We’re sorry, we are experiencing large number of visitors at the moment, please try again later” messaging. “Try again later” is the last thing this retailer’s avid fans wanted to read.